Figurative Language from the World of Rap

Though I wouldn’t advise following rap’s lead in terms of spelling and grammar, writers can learn a lot from the visceral, raw and out of the ordinary nature of the music.  One of the staples of rap is the simile.  Figurative language in general is often used and misused by most rappers.  Let’s take a look at some of the good, strange and unclear.

The On

 Crazier than a bag of fucking angel dust
Notorious B.I.G.- Gimme the Loot

Angel dust (aka PCP) is about as crazy as you can get.  Add the obligatory “fucking” and you got some serious crazy going on. 

I’m so fucking high, I could eat a star
Lil’ Wayne-Upgrade U

Trippy, surreal and weird.  Lil’ Wayne doesn’t disappoint here. 

I flow like the blood on a murder scene
GZA-Liquid Swords

This isn’t off the charts creative or anything, but its simplicity is part of its charm.  He apparently flows when he raps, slowly, on the floor and in relation to the size of the wound.

The Odd

The ruler got some shit that could stop a herd of gorillas
Slick Rick-Frozen

Herd of gorillas?  Isn’t it a pack or club or pride or something?  And he doesn’t mean feces right?  That would be a lot of poop.

Play the rabbit like you dead
Ol’ Dirty Bastard-All in Together Now

You would expect ODB to show up here.  Nearly every line he wrote has to be puzzled over, but I don’t even know where to start with this.  Is ‘play the rabbit’ some sexual thing I’ve never heard of?

I’m so cold I’m like a 24 year old North Pole
Mystikal-Y’all Ain’t Ready Yet

A young North Pole is colder than an older one that starts to lose temperature and hair.  Imagine if he was as cold as a teenage North Pole.  Also, is Mystikal okay?  If he’s having that much trouble keeping his body temperature up, hypothermia is a real danger.

The Obscure

Snake got smoked on the set like Brandon Lee

Blown out the frame, like Pan Am flight 103

GZA-Gold

The Brandon Lee thing is a little obscure on its own.  Bruce Lee’s son died on the set of The Crow just like this guy Snake apparently did.  Then he suffered the same fate as the victims of a terrorist attack from 1988.  How many people know that flight number of the plane that was blown up by a crazy Libyan man?  Gza does.

I got them 16 switches like Dre
U.G.K.-Front Back

Who is Dre?  Dr. Dre?  Dre 3000? Dre Bly?  Loss of street cred be damned, I’m not sure what the sixteen switches are either.  Does he have a lot of lights to turn off and on in his house?  He must. 

I rip the crowd like a phone number
Tupac-Heartz of Men

Usually when I am given a phone number, I rip it in half much like I do when I find myself among a crowd of people.